NFL: An interesting journey for Patriots' D.J. Williams

The Packers drafted tight end D.J. Williams in the fourth round in 2011 and he spent his first two seasons in Green Bay. That stability gave way to insecurity with his release Aug. 31.

The Jaguars claimed Williams Sept. 1 and cut him Nov. 4. He was picked up finally by the Patriots on Nov. 27 before being released a week later, just a couple of hours after practice ended.

Williams' football journey resumed five days later when the Patriots brought him back to fill the roster spot that opened when Rob Gronkowski suffered a season-ending knee injury.

He was glad to be back in New England, and equally happy he had left on good terms.

"It's a tough situation and it was a little bit unexpected," Williams said Wednesday of his departure. "But I understand the player personnel directors have to do what's best for the team. It was nothing personal, I understand how it goes.

"The organization here and the people in this organization are great people. I wasn't bitter or sore at all about it. I was like, 'Thank you for the opportunity,' and boom, now I'm back. I'm glad I didn't leave, I guess, (upset) or anything because it would have been bad coming back."

The well-spoken and friendly Williams was equally frank explaining what it has been like to exist on the fringe of the NFL, some days being a member of the exclusive club and other days being an outcast.

"I would say this year has been an extremely long year for me," the 25-year-old from Little Rock, Ark., said. "I've been cut three times already and it makes it difficult when you have your first two years go smooth and now you go through this whole transition. It can put a mental toll on you.

"But I've learned, after I got cut the second time, to sit back and really have patience and understand you have to have a positive mindset or you're just going to go down that rabbit hole and not come back."

As tough as it is facing a general manager who tells you your services are no longer required, the most difficult part of being released is returning home.

"You have so many people who send you off with good luck this or good luck that," Williams said. "Then, when you see them again, they're like, 'Oh, he's back.' You kind of get past that and understand the people who actually really care about you. And the ones who don't and say, 'He's just another failure,' they weren't important to start off with.

"You learn a lot with this whole process and I'm actually thankful for this year because it's been stressful and frustrating, but I've grown a lot from it."

Chasing No. 1 seed

The Patriots have a three-game lead in the AFC East with three games to play and can clinch their fifth straight division title with a win over the Dolphins today. That would gain them entry into the six-team conference playoff field for the 11th time in 13 years.

But the door opened for the Patriots to claim the No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, with the Broncos losing to the Chargers on Thursday night.

The Patriots (10-3) need only finish with the same record as the Broncos (11-3) to edge them out for the top seed due to their head-to-head victory in Week 12.

"There's nothing we can do about anything except what we do," coach Bill Belichick said Friday. "I don't care about anybody else."

That's precisely the point, since the Patriots conceivably could spend January at home if they take care of business in December, a month in which they're a league-best 47-6 (.887) since 2001. It's not going to be easy, though.

The Dolphins, who are 7-6 and in the wild-card hunt, are going to be a tough out. Then there's a trip to Baltimore, where the Ravens are 39-8 (.830) in regular-season play since quarterback Joe Flacco arrived in 2008, including a 31-30 win over the Patriots last season.

The Ravens are 7-6 and currently hold down the sixth and final playoff spot.

The Patriots conclude the season at home against the Bills, a team they're 24-3 (.889) against during Belichick's tenure in New England.

As for the Broncos, they finish up with roadies against the 2-11 Texans and 4-9 Raiders.

It would be wise also to keep an eye on the Bengals, who are 9-4 and own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Patriots based on their win in Week 5. The Bengals have a road game against the Steelers before facing the Vikings and Ravens at home, where they're 6-0.

It's worth noting since the NFL went to a four-division setup in 2002, the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the AFC has advanced to the Super Bowl eight of 11 times.

Inside the lines

Some quick hits and (hopefully) useful numbers with regard to this week's games: The Redskins are 1-5 on the road. They've allowed 38, 31, 45, 34 and 24 points in the losses. … Browns quarterback Jason Campbell, who threw for a career-high 391 yards against the Patriots last weekend, is 37 of 57 (64.9 percent) for 386 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in two home starts. … The Texans have lost 11 straight games. The last seven have been by 1, 3 (to the Colts), 3, 5, 7, 3 and 7 points. … The Bills are 1-5 on the road. The win was by two points. The Jaguars are 4-1 since opening the season with eight straight losses. … The Eagles are 5-1 on the road. The wins were by 6, 15, 11, 29 and 14 points. The loss was to the Broncos. … The Seahawks were at NFC West rival San Francisco last week and host division foe Arizona next week. In between, they've got a roadie against the Giants, who are 3-1 in their last four home games. The loss was by three points. … The Jets are averaging 17.4 points. The Panthers are allowing 14.5 points. … The Chiefs are 8-2 in their last 10 trips to Oakland. … The Cardinals are 7-3 after starting 1-2. The Titans are 2-7 after starting 3-1. … The Steelers are home underdogs against the Bengals for the first time since 1989. The Bengals are 2-13 (.133) on the road against the spread over the past two seasons.

Fourth and one

Some random thoughts in no particular order:

•Peyton Manning has been the frontrunner to win a record fifth NFL MVP award since he threw seven touchdowns in Week 1, but Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's candidacy shouldn't be dismissed so easily.

•The NFL would like you to know 25 teams remain in contention for 12 playoff berths. That includes the Bills, Browns, Jaguars and Raiders, all of whom are 4-9. You can laugh now.

•It's bad enough they'll be playing Super Bowl XLVIII outdoors in New Jersey in February. Now we find out no tailgating will be allowed per order of the No Fun League.

•Gronkowski's season is over because he took a direct shot to the knee. It had nothing to do with his reckless playing style, so enough with the mindless chatter about him needing to dial it down.

•Best of luck to outgoing Shrewsbury High football coach Terry Walles in his future endeavors, which we assume will include coaching.

Material used in this report was collected from personal interviews, wire services, Web sites and league and team sources. Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com.